Official Cleveland relocation thread (Toledo, Lakewood: apartment complex, for rent, theater)

[Peregrine]

You have a million options between those cities. Parma and Elyria as mentioned already but also just about anything in between including the Western Cleveland neighborhoods.
Brookpark, Columbia Station, Olmsted Falls, Berea, Middleburgh Heights, North Olmsted (jn order of cheapest to most expensive for renting).

[Pommesfritzr]

I have started to plan my return to Ohio where I grew up. I have been living overseas for almost a decade and haven't been back to the US since President Bush's second term. I need to come back to take care of an elderly family member, and because I am tired of my adopted country and just want to come home. Before moving abroad, I last lived in the southwest; previous to that I lived in Ohio for a short period during the mid-90s, so I am not up to speed.

I have been reading the Cleveland subforum for quite some time, but I am baffled as to how I would re-affiliate with the healthcare system. I have heard about Obama-care and understand I need to have a certain minimum earned? income to enrol, but that is unlikely to happen for a while. Now that I am older (mid-50s), I suspect I will find it difficult to get back into the labor force (in IT) and could be unemployed for a while. I will have to live on very modest, monthly family support from outside the US until I can get reestablished. My budget will be $1000-1200 per month for myself (for just living expenses and insurance) until I find work.

I also need to seek healthcare when I return as soon as possible, as the foreign country I have been living in is regressive and cheap. Am I correct to assume that I will have to apply for Medicaid? If so, would I be able to enrol with the a GP at the Cleveland Clinic as a new patient? I am not sure how to connect the dots, and in what order to proceed.

Also, if anyone can recommend areas for someone my age which are generally safe and quiet (and within budget) to rent a 1-2 BR apartment that is senior-friendly (for myself, and probably my elderly family member) and close to a light-rail station, that would be great.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[GoodDog2]

Originally Posted by runbilly

My wife is a medical student who will be doing her rotations, in no particular order, in Elyria and Parma. We're moving early-mid 2015 and I'd love to know if there are some good places to live. We relocated from Tempe, Arizona to Pittsburgh over a year ago and are in a pretty bad neighborhood. (Only one drive by on our street) Anyway, that said, we'd be willing to buy a cheap house in some areas that have a little more old culture and less cleanliness but have to avoid crime this time. That said, renting a cheap, small house is an option too. Any information on that area would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.

Additionally, anywhere we should avoid.

I would suggest the following suburbs that are within commuting distance to both Parma and Elyria.
Parma
Parma Hts.
Middleburg Hts. - Probably the best for commuting to both cities. Close to interstates. Nice community with everything you could need close by.
Strongsville
North Olmsted
Avon
Avon Lake
Olmsted Falls

Stay away from Elyria, North Ridgeville. Most other areas between Parma and Elyria are nice and safe.

[GoodDog2]

Originally Posted by Pommesfritzr

I have started to plan my return to Ohio where I grew up. I have been living overseas for almost a decade and haven't been back to the US since President Bush's second term. I need to come back to take care of an elderly family member, and because I am tired of my adopted country and just want to come home. Before moving abroad, I last lived in the southwest; previous to that I lived in Ohio for a short period during the mid-90s, so I am not up to speed.

I have been reading the Cleveland subforum for quite some time, but I am baffled as to how I would re-affiliate with the healthcare system. I have heard about Obama-care and understand I need to have a certain minimum earned? income to enrol, but that is unlikely to happen for a while. Now that I am older (mid-50s), I suspect I will find it difficult to get back into the labor force (in IT) and could be unemployed for a while. I will have to live on very modest, monthly family support from outside the US until I can get reestablished. My budget will be $1000-1200 per month for myself (for just living expenses and insurance) until I find work.

I also need to seek healthcare when I return as soon as possible, as the foreign country I have been living in is regressive and cheap. Am I correct to assume that I will have to apply for Medicaid? If so, would I be able to enrol with the a GP at the Cleveland Clinic as a new patient? I am not sure how to connect the dots, and in what order to proceed.

Also, if anyone can recommend areas for someone my age which are generally safe and quiet (and within budget) to rent a 1-2 BR apartment that is senior-friendly (for myself, and probably my elderly family member) and close to a light-rail station, that would be great.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Moving to the Cleveland area can be a blessing and a curse. As you may remember, it is a little depressed. Making a comeback, but it still has a way to go. It is a very inexpensive are to live and a great choice for you on a low income. Medicaid should be no problem and you couldn't ask for better quality health care options than in this area. You can go to the Cleveland Clinic as a new patient without a problem.
However, the job market stinks in the Cleveland area. It has always been difficult here and things in that regard haven't changed. Many people leave this area to find work elsewhere. If you can find work here, you have the best opportunity for a good standard of living on a low wage.
I wish you the very best. Good Luck!

[Pommesfritzr]

Originally Posted by GoodDog2

Moving to the Cleveland area can be a blessing and a curse. As you may remember, it is a little depressed. Making a comeback, but it still has a way to go. It is a very inexpensive are to live and a great choice for you on a low income. Medicaid should be no problem and you couldn't ask for better quality health care options than in this area. You can go to the Cleveland Clinic as a new patient without a problem.
However, the job market stinks in the Cleveland area. It has always been difficult here and things in that regard haven't changed. Many people leave this area to find work elsewhere. If you can find work here, you have the best opportunity for a good standard of living on a low wage.
I wish you the very best. Good Luck!

Thanks, GoodDog2. I'm going to try to hook-up with a new startup or get something going on my own if traditional jobs aren't available. There seems to be seeds of growth in certain sectors in Cleveland – like Detroit – so I'm hopeful.

I guess I'll have to call the state Medicaid office to find out if I qualify and how to enrol. I was thinking that private health insurance through Obama-care for low income would be cheap enough (100-150/month) and would be better than Medicaid, but I don't know how to figure that out.

Any suggestions about where to rent? I don't know what utilities cost – are water and heat typically included in apartment rentals? I think I can afford $600-700/month for housing at first, and estimate $550 tops for the apartment and $150 for electricity if separate. I hope to use the light-rail system to get around and don't want to buy a car right away. Any suggestions where to live for a mature single looking for safe, peaceful and affordable? Again, I may have an elderly relative living with me, so I want to avoid old tenement buildings without elevators, or noisy communities, if possible. If together, we can probably afford a little more for rental costs.

Beside the larger rental sites like rent.com, where is the best place to look for an apartment in the area? Craigslist?

[GoodDog2]

I don't know much about applying for Medicaid. However, I would think that on the income you mentioned you should qualify for free health care under. If you go to healthcare.gov you should be able to determine your ability to qualify easily.

I would suggest the Westpark area of Cleveland if you want reasonable rent and close proximity to the rail line (Rapid Transit). That is in the vicinity of West 140th street and Lorain Avenue. It is one of the safer areas of the city with very reasonable and plentiful rentals. If you can find a place there, you can take the rapid downtown and transfer to another train at the terminal tower if you choose to travel to the east side (ie Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, etc.). If you want to look in the burbs and take a bus, then Parma or surrounding communities could work also. If you get too far out (south) then the rent and costs in general go up dramatically.

Good luck!

[Pommesfritzr]

Thank you very much, GoodDog2! Very helpful!

[runbilly]

Thank you all for your replies so far. My wife and I are both attentively reading your responses.

I am also going to need work out there. My experience with job boards (indeed.com and the like) has been very poor here in Western PA. Can you recommend some of the larger staffing agencies in the area? I've done quite a bit of manufacturing work but have a bachelor's in business management. Finding a job utilizing my degree has been very difficult.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by GoodDog2

I would suggest the Westpark area of Cleveland if you want reasonable rent and close proximity to the rail line (Rapid Transit). That is in the vicinity of West 140th street and Lorain Avenue.

Between 150th and Rocky River (237) would be a much better area of Westpark.
And the job market isn't nearly as bad as GoodDog makes it sound, ESPECIALLY in IT. Unemployment is high here, but that has more to do with a lack of qualified candidates (particularly in healthcare) then it does a lack of jobs.
A quick search on CareerBoard for "Information Technology" brings back 849 hits.
"Healtchcare": 857

Of course take that with a grain of salt as you should everything you read here, but still....

[Pommesfritzr]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Between 150th and Rocky River (237) would be a much better area of Westpark.
And the job market isn't nearly as bad as GoodDog makes it sound, ESPECIALLY in IT. Unemployment is high here, but that has more to do with a lack of qualified candidates (particularly in healthcare) then it does a lack of jobs.
A quick search on CareerBoard for "Information Technology" brings back 849 hits.
"Healtchcare": 857

Of course take that with a grain of salt as you should everything you read here, but still....

Thank you, Peregrine. That's what I miss about the US: genuinely helpful, decent people. I know the US isn't perfect, and there are some really difficult problems that won't go away, but Americans *are* fantastic . Also, thanks for the mention of careerbuilder.com - I had not heard of it before.

I have been doing a GoogleEarth-recon of the area, and it looks promising. The buildings appear to be mostly single-family homes in that area, so maybe I should look for duplex/quadplex/granny-flat units there if affordable. Gooddog2's suggested area also looks like a possibility, and it appears there may be more apartment complexes east of the metro station.

So, how do people advertise apartments/units nowadays? It's been ages since I looked for multi-family rentals, so my skills are rusty and dated. I've seen the large apartment aggregator sites like rent.com, and have looked at cragislist as well. Is there a city paper or website that the locals tend to use?

Is there a walking/bicycle path along the entire length of Rocky River Park, and is it safe during daylight? Are the trains stations at Brookpark and Puritas generally safe? Are there any train stations that are high-risk?